I've been a Drury fan for many, many years. Our political views have seldom been the same, but that doesn't keep me from admiring his writing style. "I've been a Drury fan for many, many years. Our political views have seldom been the same, but that doesn't keep me from admiring his writing style. "Advise and Consent" was the first and the best of his political novels. And it led to a pretty good film starring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, and Burgess Meredith....more

I'm probably representative of the ultimate target audience for this book. Like Clinton, I grew up in Arkansas. I'm about 12 years younger than he is,I'm probably representative of the ultimate target audience for this book. Like Clinton, I grew up in Arkansas. I'm about 12 years younger than he is, I'm a lifelong Democrat. So, when he mentions people and places from Arkansas, I know better than most to whom and where he is referring. But I think one has to be an exceptional "policy wonk" to get through certain portions of this book and still deem it worthy of five stars. I wanted to give it four stars because I admire what Clinton came to Washington wanting to do, but he did not achieve many of his goals because of his character flaws. Thus, I could only give him three stars....more

I read this book when I was 16 and Jimmy Carter was running for president the first time. His vision of the country in its bicentennial year drew me tI read this book when I was 16 and Jimmy Carter was running for president the first time. His vision of the country in its bicentennial year drew me to his campaign....more

I admire President Carter more with each passing year, and I'm still proud to have voted for him in the first presidential election in which I could vI admire President Carter more with each passing year, and I'm still proud to have voted for him in the first presidential election in which I could vote. I was a junior in college, about to turn 21, and I went to my polling place and stood in line for about an hour to vote. His memoirs of his presidency demonstrate the integrity of the man I supported in 1980....more

This is the story of how good, basic, hard-nosed journalism triumphed over corruption in high places. If you want to understand Watergate, read this bThis is the story of how good, basic, hard-nosed journalism triumphed over corruption in high places. If you want to understand Watergate, read this book....more

In 1974, the noose was tightening around Richard Nixon's neck. In the spring, he released edited transcripts of White House conversations, even thoughIn 1974, the noose was tightening around Richard Nixon's neck. In the spring, he released edited transcripts of White House conversations, even though the subpoena requested the tapes themselves. A few months later, the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against Nixon in televised hearings that had an entire nation riveted to its television sets. And then, when it became clear to Nixon that he could not survive a trial in the Senate, he became the only president to resign. This book tells the story of the constitutional crisis that was the brief second term of Richard Nixon. My copy is valuable to me not only because I purchased it when it was first released but also because I eventually met Carl Bernstein and got him to autograph my copy....more

It's been more than 25 years since I read this book, but I've been wanting to re-read it and now I shall. It was the sequel to Advise and Consent, DruIt's been more than 25 years since I read this book, but I've been wanting to re-read it and now I shall. It was the sequel to Advise and Consent, Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel....more

So much of the 1960 campaign seems to have become shrouded in myth and lore. But this book tells the story so masterfully. It's been nearly 50 years sSo much of the 1960 campaign seems to have become shrouded in myth and lore. But this book tells the story so masterfully. It's been nearly 50 years since Kennedy was elected, and it's hard to recall all the things that have changed since that time, but the influence of television has changed the political landscape. How much influence did the debates between Kennedy and Nixon have on the outcome? In 1960, television was hardly in every home, and many people listened to the debates on the radio -- of those, more thought Nixon won than Kennedy. So why did Nixon lose? Has the influencee of the debates been exaggerated over the years? I thoroughly recommend reading this book, not because it has all the answers but because it knows which questions to ask....more

This book is not just about the cliffhanger election campaign between Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and George Wallace. It tells the story of a year,This book is not just about the cliffhanger election campaign between Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and George Wallace. It tells the story of a year, 1968, in which everything changed. Americans had soured on the war, and although he was constitutionally eligible to run for another term, Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek re-election; in his place was the vice president, Humphrey, who had to defend the administration until he was given the green light to be his own man. The civil rights movement had helped to give birth to Wallace's right-wing independent candidacy. Nixon was back, apparently applying the lessons learned in his narrow loss to John F. Kennedy eight years earlier. There were some primaries in some states, but not nearly as many as there are now and the majority of convention delegates were assigned in other, more antiquated ways. Politically, the book is the story of another era. Some of the elements of the story are the same as today. It remains to be seen if the election of 2008 proves that we haven't learned the lessons from 40 years earlier. Too bad we don't have Theodore White to tell us about it after the ballots have been counted....more

Richard Nixon's victory over George McGovern wasn't just predictable. It was such a sure thing that political reporters could have written their articRichard Nixon's victory over George McGovern wasn't just predictable. It was such a sure thing that political reporters could have written their articles a week or more ahead of the election and simply left a space to fill in with the number of states and electoral votes won by the Republican ticket. Richard Nixon never would have volunteered a comment to a reporter, even at the moment of his greatest triumph. White was one of the few journalists who could have access to Nixon, and his conversation with Nixon aboard Air Force One is what makes this book so intriguing. On that day, Nixon wasn't thinking about Watergate -- and the great unspoken irony of that is that Nixon and his staff obsessed over Watergate more and more after the election....more

Theodore White makes you believe he was on hand for most, if not all, of the major events in America for a quarter of a century -- and he probably wasTheodore White makes you believe he was on hand for most, if not all, of the major events in America for a quarter of a century -- and he probably was. This book begins with the re-election of Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 and concludes with the first election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Read this and treasure the brilliance that was Theodore H. White....more

A well-written story about America in 1964, when the civil rights struggle was the domestic issue of the day and the Vietnam War had not become the poA well-written story about America in 1964, when the civil rights struggle was the domestic issue of the day and the Vietnam War had not become the polarizing event that it became. The book begins by telling the readers what we already knew -- that Lyndon Johnson's victory had been a sure thing ever since that dark day in Dallas in November 1963 when John F. Kennedy was murdered and Johnson became president. Nevertheless, the book is well written and worth reading. Theodore White was one of the best political writers of his time, and one of the best historians as well. But he wrote his best when the outcome of the story was in doubt right up to the end. The stories of the landslides of 1964 and 1972 were more interesting as snapshots of America at a particular time. The cliffhanger elections of 1960 and 1968 made for more dramatic stories....more

You seldom find an autobiography that expresses criticism of the subject. That is especially true in this case, although one wouldn't expect to find RYou seldom find an autobiography that expresses criticism of the subject. That is especially true in this case, although one wouldn't expect to find Richard Nixon criticizing anything he did as president. This book was far too lengthy, and if you read it expecting to find a confession by Nixon, you are in for a disappointment. Nixon is, as he was in life, on the defensive much of the time.

It's not a problem that only Nixon had. Almost everyone who ever wrote a memoir did so as a means of getting his/her side of the story into the public record without being cross-examined. I guess it's amusing for someone like myself, who remembers Nixon and his self-defensive posture, to read his memoirs. To be honest, it didn't take me long to grow tired of it. It was a huge seller in its day. I often wonder if most of those people who bought copies actually read much of what Nixon had to say....more

This is the best book I've read about Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Theodore H. White wrote some compelling books about the presidential elThis is the best book I've read about Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Theodore H. White wrote some compelling books about the presidential elections of 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. His account of the fall of Richard Nixon, in a Shakespearean-like tragedy, was no less compelling. His chapter about the tapes that led to Nixon's demise is one of the finest I've ever read on the subject. To understand Nixon and Watergae, it is essential to read this book....more

Recently, when I found myself in the hospital for several days, I re-read this book, which is an enormously entertaining narrative of the 1976 presideRecently, when I found myself in the hospital for several days, I re-read this book, which is an enormously entertaining narrative of the 1976 presidential campaign. Thirty years later, it's hard to recall a time when presidential nominations weren't settled in primaries, as they are now. Jimmy Carter's decision to enter every presidential primary in 1976 was considered unorthodox, even a gamble, when the conventional wisdom was to pick and choose the primaries a candidate would enter, thus allocating resources and time to those primaries in which a candidate stood a good chance of winning. Carter's rise from obscurity to the nomination and, eventually, election as president couldn't be duplicated today. But it is enjoyable to relive the time when it was not only possible, it was achieved. It's also enjoyable to read about the Republican battle for the nomination between then-President Ford and former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Ford emerged with a narrow victory, setting the stage for Reagan to win his party's nomination four years later....more